Coveted
by Moondanser83
Summary: Something's bothering Draco. He can't seem to get a certin red-haired girl out of his mind. But why?


**Coveted**

I could see her flaming-red hair from across the lawn. I tried to ignore her, to turn my attention back to the irritatingly mundane argument between Blaise and Pansy. But every time the wind blew her fiery tresses caught my attention.

"Dracie!" Pansy whined dragging me back to their conversation, "Tell Blaise he's wrong."

She stuck her lower lip out in a pout and stared at me. What on earth were they arguing about? I wondered.

"I'm not getting in the middle of it." I told her holding up my hands.

Pansy huffed out a breath, stood up and turned away from me. Blaise shot me a grin behind her back.

"Told you he wouldn't take your side just because you're his girlfriend."

Pansy whipped her head around and stuck her tongue out at him before flipping her short hair and prancing away towards the castle.

I leaned back against a tree and stared up at the passing clouds.

"You seem distracted." Blaise commented.

I sighed. Most of the people I hung around were so wrapped up in themselves that they rarely noticed anything that didn't directly affect them. But Blaise always noticed, and occasionally it irritated me.

"It's nothing." I told him without looking away from the clouds. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Hmm." Was Blaise's response, but he didn't push the subject.

I stared at the clouds a while longer, picking out familiar shapes as the other students milled around the lawn. Mostly they wondered in small groups or pairs, never coming towards my tree, so they were relatively easy to ignore. When a snitch shaped cloud made my mind flash to an image of a red-haired girl soaring across the sky on a worn, second-hand broomstick I closed my eyes and shook my head.

My eyes were still closed when I heard the passing voices that made my lips twist into their usual sneer.

"You're good," a boy said, "but you'd never catch me."

"Really!" an irritated female voice answered. "We'll see about that! Get your broom and I'll meet you at the pitch!"

I peaked out from beneath my lashed just in time to see the raven-haired boy toss his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Gin," he teased, "your competitive streak is showing."

The red-haired girl scowled but did not move out from beneath his arm.

"I'll show you competitive." She said, her tone as fiery as her hair. "Quidditch pitch. Twenty minutes. First one to circle the far posts and back wins."

The boy laughed, "You're on," he said as he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "So what does the winner get?"

I couldn't hear her answer, but I had the distinct feeling that it would make the boy blush. She seemed the type.

My sneer turned to a scowl when a stray thought made me realized that I wouldn't mind racing her for that sort of prize. For a moment I was irrationally annoyed, well more annoyed than usual, with the dark haired boy. I rose quickly and began walking in the opposite direction without saying a word to Blaise who was still lounging in the grass. "Get a grip Draco," I muttered to myself as I walked away.

I strode angrily across the lawn towards the Forbidden Forest , towards the dark shelter its trees provided. I preferred the dark. I always found it easier to think when the sun wasn't burning my eyes. Blaise often teased me that the reason I was so sensitive to the light was because I was part serpent, but my mother always blamed my unusually light eyes. Either way, the dim light of the forest immediately soothed the headache that had been forming behind my eyes.

Just beyond the view of the lawn was a mossy stump. I glanced at it, and pulling out my wand I whispered a quick spell to keep the dirt and the damp from mussing my cloths. I climbed up onto the stump and sat, my chin resting lightly on my up-drawn knees.

I sat there, mulling over recent events, trying to figure out where this new-found fascination with the Weasley girl was coming from. There was no feasible way that I was developing feelings for the little blood-traitor. There had to be another, rational, explanation.

I pulled the image of the girl up in my mind. She had attractive little body with a tight athletic build, and alone I could admit that her face wasn't hard to look at either. Maybe that was it. Things had been cooling off between me and Pansy lately, so perhaps it was a purely physical attraction. I could live with that theory, but it still didn't feel quiet right.

In my mind I saw Potter wrap his arm around her shoulders and felt a quick stab in my stomach. What was this? Usually I was very self-aware and could easily put names to the emotions I felt. But this was different. It felt like someone had jabbed a knife into my gut then gave it a quick twist. I concentrated as I rubbed my stomach. Jealousy? Could that be it? Was it possible that I was jealous of Potter? I shook my head, rejecting the idea. That was one thing I would never admit, not even to myself.

When I left my forest sanctuary the sun was just sinking below the western horizon. The lawn was nearly deserted with only a few couples left scattered around the Black Lake . Slowly I made my way towards the castle. I kept my head down and no one acknowledged me as I passed.

Once in the dungeons I made my way to the door hidden behind a painting of a large serpent and absently recited the password – Salazar – then strode into the common room. I didn't notice Blaise reclining by the fire until he called out to me.

"Draco." I froze, startled by the sudden noise. I looked up, glancing around the room until my eyes fell on the dark skinned boy in a plush green chair.

"Hey," I said as I turned and walked to the chair across from him. "Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

Blaise grinned. "Well, I was having a discussion," his grin widened, "with Parkinson. But apparently she didn't like my thoughts on the topic and stormed out of here. Actually I'm surprised you didn't run into her."

I frowned again as I settled into the overstuffed black chair.

"What were you discussing?" I asked, fiddling with my wand.

"Actually, we were talking about you."

I felt my eyes narrow. I knew Blaise would tell me what had been said, but the fact that I was a topic of discussion annoyed me.

"Do you plan on elaborating?" I asked, trying to conceal the irritation in my voice.

Blaise grinned again. He was my best friend, probably the only person in the entire school that I truly trusted, but he liked to see me squirm. This type of situation was a rare occurrence and I knew that he would take full advantage of my discomfort. Resigned, I let out a breath and settle back into my chair.

After several, drawn out, minutes of teasing Blaise finally got around to the reason for our conversation.

"So, anyways," he finally said, "Pansy was complaining that you've been, shall we say, inattentive."

I stiffened in my chair slightly. I had thought I had been carrying on as usual, but apparently I was mistaken.

"I told her that she was probably right and that you were probably getting tired of her constant whining."

I rolled my eyes and leaned back further in my chair.

"I really wish you wouldn't wind her up like that." I sighed. "It's going to take me days to calm her back down."

Blaise laughed, "What are friends for?"

I shook my head, trying to hide my own grin. Blaise liked to irritate Pansy, and honestly it didn't take much to get her going, but it took me forever to calm her back down once he was done. I mentally calculated the gold I had stashed in my dorm. I had a feeling that this make up was going to cost me. Blaise rose and made his way towards the portrait covered door. I followed suit, and wondering what bauble I would buy for Pansy, I exited the now deserted common room.

It was still early enough that no one would bother a lone student wondering the halls, and I soon found myself climbing the stairs to the Astronomy Tower . When I pushed through the heavy door I felt goose-bumps erupt on my skin. The air had cooled considerably since the sun had set and I rubbed my arms as I stared off into the ever darkening sky.

I watched as the first stars of the night twinkled into sight. Nightfall had always been my favorite time of day, and I was vaguely irritated when a voice from the grounds interrupted my revere.

"Harry," a girl giggled, and I looked down just in time to see the dark haired boy trap the flaming-red headed girl against a thick oak. I watched as he kissed her, as her arms came around his neck, and felt the stabbing in my stomach once again.

I couldn't sleep that night. I tossed and turned restlessly until just before dawn. After what seemed like an eternity I gave up on sleep and crawled out of bed. I dressed quietly, and crept out of the dorm. Pansy was still mad from her conversation with Blaise, so she had skipped her usual Saturday night visit, and it was odd for me to wake alone on a Sunday morning. I decided that a walk around the grounds before breakfast would help settled me, and gathering my jacket, I left the empty common room.

The upper level corridors were dim and deserted, just the way I liked them, as I made my way towards the main doors. During the day the halls were always crowded with students jostling each other in their hurry to get to class, and brightly lit by the sun flooding in through the oversized, double-pained windows. I liked it better this way, dim and quiet.

The grounds were the same, abandoned, with a light fog clinging to everything in sight. It made my surroundings feel surreal, like a dream that hadn't ended when I had opened my eyes. The dream-like quality continued when I saw the red-haired girl walking towards me. I froze. I had not expected to see anyone else wondering the grounds this early. And I had defiantly not expected her.

She walked with her head down, her lips moving rapidly as she muttered to herself. The expression on her face was not a happy one. After the display I had witnessed the night before, the look confused me. What was bothering her? And why did I care? After a brief internal debate I adjusted my path and walked, head down, directly towards her. Less than a minute later I felt her shoulder brush roughly against mine. She stopped and looked up. I could see the apology forming on her lips, until she realized who she had run into. Her bright brown eyes flashed with irritation and, stepping around me, she continued walking without saying a word.

I turned and watched her walk away, momentarily stunned by the faintly floral scent that had surrounded her. She walked quickly, her head still down, to the castle, not pausing until she reached the large stone steps. She climbed the first three, then glanced back over her shoulder. Our eyes met across the distance for a brief second before she turned and disappeared inside.

I stood there another moment, then continued walking across the grounds. I had no particular destination in mind, and the walk that had been meant to clear my head had done exactly the opposite. I wondered aimlessly until the sun began to burn off the fog, trying to figure out what it was about the Weasley girl that was having this affect one me.

Days passed with jolting irregularity. One minute it was Monday morning and I was sitting in Potions class, the next minute it was Wednesday and I was suffering through Transfiguration with McGonagall, and without me realizing it Friday snuck up on me and the week was over. I wondered around an a semi-coherent state, I went to class and did my homework, I even responded when I was spoken to, but my mind was so preoccupied that I remembered little of my day to day life. The one thing I did remember clearly was that Potter and the Weasley girl had yet to make up, and I found myself obsessing over the possible reasons for the extended argument. Perhaps it had finally happened, and she had caught him with the mud-blood Granger, I mused as I walked towards my final class of the day. Now that would cause an interesting argument, I thought to myself, and found myself grinning as I walked into Charms.

When the door slammed shut behind me I glanced around, surprised to find everyone already in their seats and Professor Flitwick already propped up on his usual pile of books behind the podium. I was obviously late. I turned towards my seat in the back of the room without a word and as I walked, no, strutted, I could feel the eyes burning into my back as I passed. I sat, and by the time I looked up everyone was facing the front of the room once again and Flitwick was already continuing the lecture my tardiness had interrupted. I lounged in my chair, glancing around the room, and found myself jolting upright when I spotted a long fall of bright red hair near the front of the classroom. It took me a moment to realize that it was the Hufflepuff girl, Bones, Sarah? Stacey? Susan! Susan Bones. It surprised me that I had never noticed just how red her hair was, then again, before this past week my mind hadn't been as focused on that particular color. Suddenly everyone in front of me was standing up, shuffling towards the door as they arranged their bags and books. The class was over, and apparently I had missed it. I gathered my things and followed the crowed out into the overfilled hallway.

The rest of the day passed in the same manner, and I was shocked when I remembered that there was a Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor the next morning. Had I even been to practice this week? I wondered as I climbed through the portrait hole and into the Slytherin common room. I must have, I reasoned, or someone would have said something to me. I shook my head as I threw my bag on my neatly made bed. I really needed to focus if I wanted to be of any use during the match tomorrow. Suddenly I remembered something that had happened during my last class. Potter had irritated Professor Snape, yet again, and had been given detention the next day. Professor Snape often did this when Gryffindor was scheduled to play Slytherin so it had not registered in my mind until now. And now it dawned on me who would be playing seeker for the opposing team. Once again, in my mind I could see the red-haired girl soaring across the sky, chasing after the tiny gold ball as it ducked and dodge, barely evading her quick fingers. I shook my head.

I defiantly needed to get her off my mind before the next morning if I wanted to win the match.

Saturday morning dawned warm and clear. I saw Potter walking slowly, shoulders hunched, towards Professor Snape's office as I made my way out to the Quidditch Pitch. He glared at me, and I shot him a taunting smile. It was going to be a good day, I knew it. I had finally managed to get a decent night's sleep and I was feeling confident about today's match. In the locker room my teammates yelled and punched each other as they prepared themselves for the game to come. We had yet to win against Gryffindor this season, and if we even wanted a shot at the House Cup we needed this game. I went to my usual corner and began to pull on my robes. No distractions, I told myself, stay focused on the game, no matter who is on the field. My little pep talk did nothing to keep my mind from straying, but I managed make it out onto the field and into the air without alerting my teammates.

Once in the air I felt much better. The air swirled around me as I floated weightlessly above the ground. My teammates soared passed me and as the game began, but I hovered far below them, only fifty feet above the ground. I watched as the Quaffle was passed from chaser to chaser, occasionally making it through one of the tall hoops at either end of the pitch. Half way through the game I spotted a flash of gold fly through the air, but lost it before I could make a move. I continued to hover and watch, floating slowly back and forth across the pitch. I was almost to the Gryffindor end of the pitch when I saw it. I flash of gold high above me and I took off at full speed. _She_ saw it too and was flying hard right on my tail. We broke though the level where the game was still going on, barely avoiding being hit by the flying Quaffle. I was nearly there, just a few more feet to go, when I saw the bludger hit. There was an echoing crack as her broom shattered, and saw _her_ fall helplessly through the air. Her teammates were still caught up in a near score at the opposite end of the field, and no one had noticed what had happened yet. Without thinking I dove. I pushed my broom harder then I ever had before, and managed to catch her under the arm only ten feet from the ground. I pulled up hard and stopped. She dangled there, staring up at me, her eyes filled with fear and confusion, as I leaned forward guiding my broom down until she was only a foot or so off the ground. Carefully, I dropped her, making sure she landed safely, and then took off, flying as fast as I could back to where I had last sent he Snitch. No one had noticed. There were no gasps of shock or cheers that no one had been injured, and the game ended abruptly moments later when I wrapped my hand around the fluttering Snitch, its iridescent wings beating gently against my palm.

The party was in full swing when I entered the common room, but I was in to mood to celebrate. Though no one had noticed me rescuing – _her – _it still bothered me. Why had I done it? I had watched Potter fall from his broom time and time again, I'd seen the Bell girl take a hit and thought nothing of it, but when, I swallowed hard, _Ginny_, was falling I couldn't help going to her. I couldn't even imagine her tiny body hitting the ground, and just the thought of it made me shudder. What was wrong with me? I sighed as I threw my Quidditch bag onto my bed and sat down beside it. Something had to be done about this.

Sunday I didn't leave the dorm. I had no where I wanted to go, no one I wanted to see, and I knew that as long as I didn't stray beyond my own common room I wouldn't have to see _her_. It was the coward's way out, but I was all right with that. I sat in the common room, with Pansy glued to my side, until I couldn't take it any more, then escaped back to my dorm with the excuse of unfinished homework. The day passed slowly, and for the first time I looked forward to Monday, at least I would have class to distract me.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Monday was just as bad as the past week. I had never realized just how many red-haired girls there were in the school, and it seemed like every time I turned around one of them was there. By lunch time I was ready to pull my hair out, then there _she_ was. She was walking down the hall with the mud-blood Granger, her lips turned down in a frown.

"So how long are you going to make him wait before you forgive him?" I heard Granger ask, and I held my breath as I waited to hear the answer.

"I don't know." Ginny said, her voice tense with irritation, "Maybe I won't forgive him"

Granger blew out a breath, "You know he didn't mean anything by it, and he wouldn't have done it if he thought it would upset you."

Ginny glared at her friend, "But he did do it."

Giving up on the conversation Hermione shook her head and blew of a defeated sounding breath.

I walked silently behind them towards the Great Hall, and was surprised when Ginny stopped just outside the door.

"Go ahead," she said to Granger quietly, "I'll be right behind you."

I froze, unsure if I should walk past her or wait for the next crowd to go by. Before I could make a decision she turned to face me. She looked me directly in the eye, and for a brief second I saw a flash of annoyance from her conversation with Granger, then her face settled into calm lines and she drew a deep breath.

"Thanks." She said it so quickly, so quietly that I would have missed it if I hadn't been holding my breath, waiting for her to speak. Then she turned and darted into the Great Hall.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully as I mulled over that single word. By the time I crawled into bed that night I had made a decision, one that had been bothering me longer then I had realized. I needed to know, was this just a physical attraction, or was it something else? I made my decision, and now I was going to find out, one way or another.

For the next couple days I watched her closely. When we were exiting or entering the same room I held the door without saying a word, and though she never acknowledged me I knew that she had noticed. When I caught her eye, and no one was looking, I would smile at her, and it was always a moment before she looked away. She was still fighting with Potter, so it was easy for me to watch her in the Great Hall since she was now sitting at the end of the table between her older brothers, and once again, I know she noticed. It continued though the week and by Friday I noticed that she would hold my eye a bit longer than she used to before looking away.

That night I decided I would speak to her. Actually speak, no more glances or hidden smiles, and my hands shook at the thought. I would wait for her, I decided, I had already chosen my position in a dim hall that was rarely used just around the corner from the Great Hall. I would find a way to get her alone there, and I would speak to her, really speak to her for the first time. Twenty minutes before dinner was due to begin I took up my position in the abandoned hallway.

I was leaning against the wall when I saw _her_. She walked towards me, her path never wavering, until she stood just inches away from me. I kept my hands in my pockets, fearing that they just might reach out and grab her without my consent. She stood there, studying me for a moment, then closed the space between us. Her lips we a breath away from mine when she spoke.

"I know what you want, what you're trying to do." She whispered, then pressed her body firmly against mine. Our lips crashed together in a fierce kiss, a frantic fight between lips teeth and tongues. I felt her narrow fingers run through and grip my hair almost to the point of pain. My hands flew out of my pockets, one wrapping itself tightly around the back of her neck, the other tangling itself in her long mane. As my hand fisted in her hair, pulling her closer, I realized that it felt like silk on fire burning straight through to my soul, blinding me with its brilliance. Then far too soon she was pulling away. Unwillingly I released my grip on her and she stepped back, studying me once again.

"And it's never going to happen." She said firmly, then without another word she turned and walked away.

I leaned against the wall, stunned, unable to force my body to obey my commands. I stared after her until her fiery locks disappeared around the corner and into the main hall. I slid weakly to the floor, my head resting on my upraised knees. That's how I was when Pansy found me.

"Drakie?" she shrieked, "Drakie! Are you all right? What's wrong with you?"

I looked up at her, her face slightly out of focus in my blurry vision. I stared for a long moment before pushing my hand against the wall and dragging myself to my feet.

"Nothing." I said as I dusted off my pants, "I'm fine."

She stared at me suspiciously, but before she could say anything else I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and began to walk towards the Great Hall.

"We're going to be late for dinner." I said quietly, and smiling, she fell into step.

When we entered the Great Hall I glanced around. As usual there were two empty seats at the Slytherin table between Crabbe and Goyle, and I knew that they were meant for us. My eyes swept the room, searching, and after a quick scan I found her blazing hair near the center of the Gryffindor table. Beside her sat Potter, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. She glanced up, as though she knew I had been watching her, and our eyes met for a split second. Then just as quickly she looked away, turning her attention back to Potter, resting her head on his shoulder. I turned towards my own table, my arm still wrapped tightly around Pansy. In my mind I replayed the kiss that had melted my heart and made my body burn, and I knew that she was right, it would never happen, no matter how much I wanted it. I put the thought out of my mind and took my place among the other purebloods.

As I filled my plate I glanced at her again, knowing that it would be my last. She was smiling now, running her fingers through Potter's all ready messy hair. The relieved look on his face told me that he had been forgiven, and I turned my attention back to the conversation beside me. Blaise was teasing Pansy once again, and I forced a smile for their benefit. I knew the memory of the red-haired girl, and how she made me feel, would stay with me forever, but I would not dwell on it. I would move on with my life, the way it was meant to be, and would covet her no more.


End file.
